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This post has been co-written with Ben Wolfson, a full-time educator and assistant principal in the USA.
Preschoolers seem fascinated by vehicles of any type, but trains always hold a special place in their hearts. Even as they’re learning to walk around school, you’ll hear them talking about being the engine if they’re line leader, or caboose if they’re the end friend. You can generate a lot of excitement in your room by tying your academics to trains, and these train number writing practice worksheets are a great example of how to teach and rehearse essential skills while having some fun at the same time.
The Importance of Number Formation
You have so many essential fine motor skills to cover in preschool that your students need plenty of time to practice them all. Number formation up to 20 underpins all of their math work in future years, as they’ll need to be able to accurately form and name each number, as well as being able to write it in such a way that they can organize their equations when they get to grade school. Number formation starts by tracing numbers 1 to 20 and this transportation theme number activity gives your students ‘train-ing’ in number formation up to 20 by having them trace numbers on the carriages in a train.
Preparing Train Number Writing Practice
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Getting ready for your number formation up to 20 practice with this transportation theme number activity is simple. Just download, print enough for one set per student and you’re ready to go. Consider laminating them for repeated practice, and cutting the trains up so that you can work on specific numbers over the course of a few weeks.
In fact, it’s a skill that can and should be done over and over again throughout the whole school year! That’s why I have number formation practice printables in many different themes including Polar Bear, Easter, Scarecrow and Thanksgiving.
Scaffolding Tasks For Train Number Writing Practice
While these train number writing practice make for a great independent math or writing center, they require some pre-teaching first. Some scaffolding tasks for number formation up to 20 include:
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Use different media – tracing numbers 1 to 20 in different media is a great way for students to truly internalize the shape of each number. A classic activity is to give each student a squirt of shaving cream and have them trace each number as you say it out loud. Jello is a good, if messy, alternative here, as is giving each student a pot of playdough to turn into the shapes of each number.
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Use big markers – part of the process for learning number formation up to 20 is to learn the movement that a pencil or marker has to make to create each number successfully. For smaller hands, large markers actually work well as they turn a fine motor control task into a gross motor task. Each page of this transportation theme number activity has three carriages that take students from tracing the number to learning how to form it, and large markers are a great way to build their muscle memory.
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Laminate the pages – finally, by laminating the pages of these train number writing practice worksheets, students can reuse and repeat the shape of each number over and over again. The repetition that laminated worksheets give you means you’ll dramatically increase your student’s master of number formation up to 20 before they start grade school.
Like this? Then you’ll love my 10 Transportation Themed Literacy and Math Centers. These easy-prep games will get your students working on letters, phonics, numbers and more!
Games included:
1) Number Writing Mats – 1 to 20 included; Kids will trace the numbers as well as the number word. The number of vehicle images shown on the mats corresponds to the number so these can also be used for counting.
2) Hot Air Balloon Which Is More Clip Cards – 15 comparison sets for numbers 1 to 10; Place a wooden peg or clothespin on the picture with more hot air balloons.
3) Monster Truck Roll and Graph – Graphing sheet for 1 to 5 or 1 to 10 provided together with a special printable dice; Print out, cut, and form the dice. Ask your child to roll it and graph the result to see which monster truck will win the race.
4) Colorful Convertible Memory Match – 9 color pairs included; Turn over the cards 2 at a time trying to find the matching pair by memory.
5) Number Puzzle Strips – 6 different puzzles included for numbers 1-10 (2 designs), 11-20 (2 designs), counting by 2s up to 20, and counting by 10s up to 100.
6) Alphabet Bus Stop – Match the correct letter wheels to the bus according to the object shown on the beginning sound bus stop sign.
7) Parking Cars Tracing LInes – 12 patterns included for pre-writing practice
8) Train Handwriting Practice – Practice writing upper and lowercase letters
9) Truck Lego Letter Formation – Kids will love building the alphabet using the mats provided
10) Taxi Alphabet Matching – 2-piece puzzles to match up upper and lowercase letters
Check it out for more ready-to-go fun!
Fun Books About Vehicles:
Other Free Vehicle Themed Printables:
1) Parking Cars Tracing Lines – More than 10 different tracing line patterns to choose from, all of which help with pencil control.
2) Train Number Writing Practice – Kids will be able to practice their number handwriting skills in this train-themed activity that’s super easy to prep for your transportation learning week!
3) Monster Truck Rhyming Wheels – A fun early literacy activity where your child will pair up the monster truck wheels that have rhyming pictures.
4) Vehicle Shadow Matching – Develop visual discrimination with this fun vehicle-themed worksheet.
5) Construction Counting Mat – This construction-themed counting mat can be used with playdough, Legos or any other small manipulatives you have.
6) Truck Wheel Shape Matching – In this printable preschool shapes activity, they’ll work on early geometry as well as fine motor skills.
Educational Tools For Your Classroom:
Browse My Most Popular Math Printables:
1) Parking Cars Tracing Lines – More than 10 different tracing line patterns to choose from, all of which help with pencil control.
2) Scarecrow Arrange By Size – 3 different scarecrow-themed image sets that they will arrange from smallest to biggest.
3) Bumblebee Addition Game – Solve the sum and help the bee land on the correct flower!
4) Farm Shapes Mats – Use playdough, pompoms, stickers etc to learn 2D shapes.
5) Popsicle Stick Number Formation – Kids will love forming the numbers 1 to 10 when ice cream and popsicles are involved!
6) Valentines Printable Worksheets Pack – 50 pages of mixed literacy and math activities.
7) Zoo Animals Number Puzzle Strips – Complete these cute puzzles and learn the numbers 1 to 20.
8) Counting Colorful Bugs – This printable book will help kids count to 10 while also learning about color words.
9) Humpty Dumpty Numbers – In this printable game, your students will practice number recognition using 1 dice or simple addition when using 2 dice.
10) Build A Number Santa – Match the number to the correct number word, tally mark and domino to form a Santa Claus
